On June 15, 2012, District Court Judge James V. Selna, sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Santa Ana), ruled in favor of the California-based Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc. (CBR), a pro-life organization, and its executive director Gregg Cunningham and several other pro-lifers who were sued for copyright infringement by Northland Family Planning Clinic, a Michigan-based abortion provider. CBR and the other pro-life defendants were represented by American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) Co-Founders and Senior Counsel Robert Muise and David Yerushalmi. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the abortion clinic by Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, the largest intellectual property law firm in the United States.
The American Freedom Law Center, through Senior Counsel Robert Muise and David Yerushalmi, have petitioned the full court (en banc) of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to review a decision rendered by a three-judge panel which held that a federal taxpayer lacked “standing” to challenge the constitutionality of the federal government’s use of taxpayer funds to support sharia.
On June 8, 2012, Americans all across the Nation gathered to oppose the HHS mandate, which requires employers to provide insurance plans that include coverage for contraception, sterilization, abortifacients, and related education and counseling. As you know, the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) is on the front lines of the battle to stop the Obama administration's attack on religious liberty. Shortly after the mandate was announced, AFLC filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on behalf of Priests for Life, a national pro-life organization, challenging the constitutionality of the mandate.
On June 4, 2012, American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) Senior Counsel David Yerushalmi and Robert Muise will be in federal court in California, representing the California-based Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc. (CBR), a pro-life organization that was sued for copyright infringement by Northland Family Planning Clinic, a Michigan-based abortion provider, because CBR used portions of a Northland video to create its own pro-life video. The CBR video parodies and criticizes the Northland video, which claims that abortion is “good” and that its abortion business is “sacred work.” The court will be hearing arguments on the cross-motions for summary judgment that were filed by the respective parties. At issue is whether CBR’s use of the Northland video was “fair use” and thus not a copyright violation as a matter of law.